asked girlfreind to check the oil

bigdee

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Jul 27, 2006
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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

Years ago I was working on a pickup when my girlfriend asked if she could help. I asked her what she knew about engines. She replied smugly "well I know it is a six cylinder". Impressed, I said how did you come to that conclusion? She replied "easy I counted those yellow buttons on that black box that says DieHard".
 

foodfisher

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Feb 18, 2009
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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

:laugh:I'm still visualizing the woman cursing men engineers as she makes a mess trying put oil in via the dipstick tube.:laugh:
 

littlerayray

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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

well when i was 12 we were going through about 2 push mowers a year. just cutting the acreage around the house, dad didnt want to buy a rider as they were expensive, and the excersize was good. so we had a collection of dead mowers in the backyard. so i started tinkering, and taking them apart and rebuilding them. without an instruction manual some worked after i was done, some were left in pieces. but the tearing down and rebuilds taught me a lot, and when i turned 18 my dad was coming to me for help with his car, when it came to usual wear and tear. so i gotta thank my dad for letting me do all this tinkering, it has taught me to be resourceful and decent with a wrench .
 

rbh

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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

If the wife drives it, the basic maintenance is her responsibility, once a week check all the fluids, inspect tires, and if there are any funny noises that creep up let me know.
 
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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

I just bought my wife a new truck (buick) . It tells you the tire pressure in psi, it tells you all sorts of stuff about the engine and its meant to text my phone if it has a problem. My smart phone Is meant to be able to link the text to decode the fault number and theres a built in cell phone so all she has to do is press the blue button and they will come get the truck and take it to a service center.
New BMW are meant to have no place to put or check oil on the engine so im sure they will have a similar system. Maybe we are coming in to a new age where we really don't have to know whats under the hood and one day you might park at work and find a service truck working on your car because your car called for a service and removed you from the loop all together. BMW and MINI both have 3 years service contracts for free so anything to do with the car is free and you can make a one time payment and extend that for another 3 years so for 6 years you will not have to open the hood.
I jumped in my sons car last week to move it and the red oil light was on. I checked the oil and it was good so it looks like the sensor is bad, I asked him if he had seen the red light and he said that its been on for months and he meant to ask me how to turn it off and it was annoying at night time :facepalm:
 

DXN

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Jun 21, 2013
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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

so i gotta thank my dad for letting me do all this tinkering, it has taught me to be resourceful and decent with a wrench .

My tinkering started with a gokart, when I was 10 my dad bought it for me but would not help me work on it. his only advise was "don't sound like its runin' right". Very frustrating for a 10 year old considering my dad was a master mechanic, I had watched him rebuild everything from weed eaters, transmissions, big diesels you name it. I told him "5 minutes of your time could save me 2 days of screwing with this carburetor, just point me in the right direction" and he'd just say "your getting there"

but I learned to wrench, and by the time I was 13-14 I had pretty steady work doing small engine repair, and ATV's. I think people brought there crap to me just to see If "that kid" could actually fix it.
 

bruceb58

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Mar 5, 2006
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30,582
Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

Since the EPA classifies sport utes and minivans as trucks, (and has for about 30 years) Buick has made a "truck" since at least 2002.
LOL....really? That's your argument that its a truck?

A vehicle built on a Chevy Malibu based chassis is not a truck, no matter what the EPA(if they really do that) wants to call it.
 
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TilliamWe

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Dec 21, 2004
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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

LOL....really? That's your argument that its a truck?...

Not an argument Bruce, a fact. I know they are not "real" trucks, but they are "trucks", in the legal sense of the word. Sorry you see an argument in everything, but it's just the facts.
 

lncoop

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Apr 18, 2010
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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

We invited a recently divorced gal and her four girls to join us on a short float trip in a remote part of the state last Saturday. Since there were so many of us she followed us in her Honda Pilot, which we left at the take-out for our shuttle vehicle. At the end of the trip the girls went back to the put in to get my truck while I broke everything down and watched the kids. When they returned the admiral told me the oil light had been going on and off in the Pilot while they were headed back to get my truck. She said she asked about it and the girl said "oh, it's been doing that for a while". I asked her if she'd like for me to check her oil. The dipstick was dry. We left them on the gravel bar and went after some 5 W 20, which amazingly (7:45 by then) we found at a nearby float trip outfitter. I put in just under four quarts (five quart capacity). As we were chatting I asked her if she had a leak. She said she didn't that she was aware of, and there weren't any head gasket type symptoms. After I put the cap back on she fired it up. Everything sounded fine and we made it home (two and a half hour drive in the hills) without incident. Last night curiosity got the better of me so I did a little Googling and discovered that engine is know to burn a quart every thousand miles.:eek:
 

RogersJetboat454

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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

Last night curiosity got the better of me so I did a little Googling and discovered that engine is know to burn a quart every thousand miles.:eek:

When I worked at an Isuzu dealership, we were issued a service bulletin that stated 1 qt consumed per thousand miles is considered normal for the 3.2/3.5 DOHC V6 installed in the Rodeo and Trooper.

Needless to say, we replaced allot of engines on vehicles who's owners who couldn't be bothered with checking the oil between changes. The real kicker was if said neglectful owner mentioned the words lawyer, lawsuit, or court, the regional rep would fold and give them a new short block under warranty. Diag time for any warranty repair with Isuzu didn't exist, and you had something like 14 hours to remove the old engine, strip it down to a block and rotating assembly. Clean, and inspect the parts. Then transfer them to the new short block, and re-install. Short blocks didn't even include the main bearing oil galley, oil pump, or rear main seal. It was just basically a block, pistons, rods, crank.
 
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lncoop

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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

When I worked at an Isuzu dealership, we were issued a service bulletin that stated 1 qt consumed per thousand miles is considered normal for the 3.2/3.5 DOHC V6 installed in the Rodeo and Trooper.

Needless to say, we replaced allot of engines on vehicles who's owners who couldn't be bothered with checking the oil between changes. The real kicker was if said neglectful owner mentioned the words lawyer, lawsuit, or court, the regional rep would fold and give them a new short block under warranty. Diag time for any warranty repair with Isuzu didn't exist, and you had something like 14 hours to remove the old engine, strip it down to a block and rotating assembly. Clean, and inspect the parts. Then transfer them to the new short block, and re-install. Short blocks didn't even include the main bearing oil galley, oil pump, or rear main seal. It was just basically a block, pistons, rods, crank.

Crazy. Sorta makes me wonder how many engines are dying out there because of this. I know we should all check our oil, and I was greatly distressed to hear she didn't think the oil light coming on warranted a closer look, but holy schnikeys! A quart every thousand miles assuming no refill means running dry between oil changes. I have trouble wrapping my head around that one.
 

jtmarten

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Aug 2, 2004
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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

I just picked up an '05 Saab 93 Aero. 93k miles, only 25k on new engine. Replaced because the PO followed the book - 15k mile OCI. I'm betting she didn't check the oil between changes either, which led to a failure. Even high quality synthetic is done after about 8k miles. Hasn't used a bit of oil so far in the 3k I've put on it. I'll be using a 6k mile OCI to be safe.
 

TilliamWe

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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

Crazy...quart every thousand miles assuming no refill means running dry between oil changes. I have trouble wrapping my head around that one.

I can't believe any manufacturer, especially Honda, allows this to happen anymore. These are the stories that you heard about Ford/GM/Chrysler, from the 50s to the 80's and the justification that MANY people used when they bought a Japanese car. Or worse a German one. Now all my GMs use no oil or have any problems like these Honda/BMW issues? My,my how things have changed?!

I'll admit I don't check the oil every week. In fact I haven't checked the oil on most of my vehicles in between an oil change (typically every 5,000 miles) in the past 14 years. They've all been GM V6s or Ford 4 cylinders and they haven't used or leaked (enough) oil to warrant it. I am sorry that those of you with Ultimate Driving Machines and sticker priced Hondas have to do it. Wait, no I'm not. ;)
 
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RogersJetboat454

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2,964
Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

Crazy. Sorta makes me wonder how many engines are dying out there because of this. I know we should all check our oil, and I was greatly distressed to hear she didn't think the oil light coming on warranted a closer look, but holy schnikeys! A quart every thousand miles assuming no refill means running dry between oil changes. I have trouble wrapping my head around that one.

My example (Isuzu) is generally the exception rather than the rule.
Isuzu really sucked to work on/for. There was allot of silly/stupid/idiotic things their company did from ALL standpoints.

Majority of the cars/trucks out there are pretty good at oil control. It's the few exceptions that especially the owners said vehicles need to be aware of.
 

jkust

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Aug 2, 2008
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Re: asked girlfreind to check the oil

In our relationship, I do the fluid checking and bringing in for service. I wouldn't ask her to check anything since the end result wouldn't be good. I do like the tire pressure monitors on vehicles since the tires will get low on air when it is -20 for a week or two and she will tell me and I will fill the tires. I will also mention that my wife earns enough money to buy a fleet of new Escalades and a couple 30 foot boats to boot. I will happily check fluids and fill tires.
 
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